1. Field of the Invention
The Field of Invention relates to an article of manufacture that is an urn that is used for the containment of human cremation ashes which is buried into the earth that is designed to disintegrate within prescribed periods of time in the particular location of earth chosen. Such an article of manufacture is defined as a temporally degradable urn that is also defined as an environmentally degradable urn. The Field of Invention further relates to a composition of matter comprised of one or more temporally degradable urns placed into the earth to form a cemetery wherein said temporally degradable urns are designed to disintegrate within prescribed periods of time within that particular cemetery. The Field of Invention further relates to a new use of said composition of matter that becomes a wildlife preserve after the urns within the particular cemetery have completely disintegrated in time. Applicable sections of U.S. Patent Classification include Class 27, Subclasses 1 and 2.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Application Ser. No. 07/778,493 that is entitled "Temporally Degradable Urns for Burial of Human Cremation Ashes in Cemeteries" having Filing Date of Nov. 17, 1991 shall issue as U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,733 on Aug. 31, 1993 in the names of the inventors William Banning Vail III and Thomas E. Vail, Jr. That Application has only one figure (FIG. 1) that explicitly shows a semi-ellipsoidal cavity in a temporally degradable urn. The Claims allowed in Ser. No. 07/778,493 specifically reference semi-ellipsoidal cavities. The inventors wish to point out that temporally degradable urns may be designed to have many different geometric shaped cavities, including rectangular shapes, cylindrical shapes, and may in fact have any geometric shape resulting an enclosed or sealed cavity. Similarly, the exterior of the urns may have variable geometric shapes including rectangular shapes, cylindrical shapes, etc. Therefore, the application herein describes temporally degradable urns that are defined equivalently as environmentally degradable urns that have different geometric shapes. These differently shaped environmentally degradable urns disintegrate within terrestrial cemeteries within specific time periods depending on the location. The inventors for the application herein are the same as for Ser. No. 07/778,493.
The inventors are aware of only one other relevant prior art reference that is U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,602 entitled "Submersible Crematory Urn" that was Filed on May 28, 1971 and that issued on May 15, 1973. The submersible urn therein described is designed of degradable material whereby the chemical action of the water in which it is submerged dissolves it over a period of time. However, the submersible urn is not intended for use in terrestrial environments and therefore does not describe the invention herein. The submersible urn described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,602 is not intended for burial into the earth, is not designed to disintegrate within prescribed periods of time in the particular location of earth chosen, and therefore does not describe the invention herein. The submersible urn described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,602 does not describe a composition of matter comprised of one or more temporally degradable urns placed into any chosen portion of the earth to form a terrestrial cemetery wherein said temporally degradable urns are designed to disintegrate within prescribed periods of time within that particular cemetery and therefore does not describe the invention herein. The submersible urn described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,602 does not describe a new use of said composition of matter which becomes a wildlife preserve after the urns within the particular chosen terrestrial cemetery have completely disintegrated in time. Therefore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,602 does not anticipate the invention herein.